Unexpected-Keyboard/CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributing

Thanks for contributing :)

Building the app

The application uses Gradle and can be used with Android Studio, but using Android Studio is not required. The build dependencies are:

• OpenJDK 17
• Android SDK: build tools (minimum 28.0.1), platform 30

Python 3 is required to update generated files but not to build the app.

For Android Studio users, no more setup is needed.

For Nix users, the right environment can be obtained with nix-shell ./shell.nix. Instructions to install Nix are here.

If you don't use Android Studio or Nix, you have to inform Gradle about the location of your Android SDK by either:

• Setting the ANDROID_HOME environment variable to point to the android sdk or
• Creating the file local.properties and writing sdk.dir=<location_of_android_home> into it.

Building the debug apk:

./gradlew assembleDebug

Nix users can call gradle directly: gradle assembleDebug.

If the build succeeds, the debug apk is located in build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk.

Debugging on your phone

First Enable adb debugging on your device. Then connect your phone to your computer using an USB cable or via wireless debugging.

If you use Android Studio, this process will be automatic and you don't have to follow this guide anymore.

And finally, install the application with:

./gradlew installDebug

The released version of the application won't be removed, both versions will be installed at the same time.

Debugging the application: INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE

./gradlew installDebug can fail with the following error message:

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.
* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':installDebug'.
> java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.android.builder.testing.api.DeviceException: com.android.ddmlib.InstallException: INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Existing package juloo.keyboard2.debug signatures do not match newer version; ignoring!

The application can't be "updated" because the temporary certificate has been lost. The solution is to uninstall and install again. The application must be enabled again in the settings.

adb uninstall juloo.keyboard2.debug
./gradlew installDebug

Specifying a debug signing certificate on Github Actions

It's possible to specify the signing certificate that the automated build should use. After you successfully run ./gradlew asssembleDebug, (thus a debug.keystore exists) you can use this second command to generate a base64 stringified version of it:

gpg -c --armor --pinentry-mode loopback --passphrase debug0 --yes "debug.keystore"

This will create the file debug.keystore.asc, paste its content into a new Github secret named DEBUG_KEYSTORE.

Guidelines

Adding a layout

Layouts are defined in XML, see srcs/layouts/latn_qwerty_us.xml. An online tool for editing layout files written by @Lixquid is available here.

Makes sure to specify the name attribute like in latn_qwerty_us.xml, otherwise the layout won't be added to the app.

The layout file must be placed in the srcs/layouts directory and named according to:

• script (latn for latin, etc..)
• layout name (eg. the name of a standard)
• country code (or language code if more adequate)

Then, run ./gradlew genLayoutsList to add the layout to the app.

The last step will update the file res/values/layouts.xml, that you should not edit directly.

Run ./gradlew checkKeyboardLayouts to check some properties about your layout. This will change the file check_layout.output, which you should commit.

Adding a programming layout

A programming layout must contain all ASCII characters. The current programming layouts are: QWERTY, Dvorak and Colemak.

See for example, Dvorak, added in https://github.com/Julow/Unexpected-Keyboard/pull/16

It's best to leave free spots on the layout for language-specific symbols that are added automatically when necessary. These symbols are defined in res/xml/method.xml (extra_keys).

It's possible to place extra keys with the loc prefix. These keys are normally hidden unless they are needed.

Some users cannot easily type the characters close the the edges of the screen due to a bulky phone case. It is best to avoid placing important characters there (such as the digits or punctuation).

Adding a localized layout

Localized layouts (a layout specific to a language) are gladly accepted. See for example: 4333575 (Bulgarian), 88e2175 (Latvian), 133b6ec (German).

They don't need to contain every ASCII characters (although it's useful in passwords) and dead-keys.

Adding support for a language

Supported locales are defined in res/xml/method.xml.

The attributes languageTag and imeSubtypeLocale define a locale, the attribute imeSubtypeExtraValue defines the default layout and the dead-keys and other extra keys to show.

The list of language tags (generally two letters) and locales (generally of the form xx_XX) can be found in this stackoverflow answer

Updating translations

The text used in the app is written in res/values-<language_tag>/strings.xml.

The list of language tags can be found in this stackoverflow answer

The first part before the _ is used, for example, res/values-fr/strings.xml for French, res/values-lv/strings.xml for Latvian.

Commented-out lines indicate missing translations:

  <!-- <string name="pref_layouts_add">Add an alternate layout</string> -->

Remove the <!-- and --> parts and change the text.

Adding a translation

The res/values-<language_tag>/strings.xml file must be created by copying the default translation in res/values/strings.xml, which contain the structure of the file and the English strings.

To check that strings.xml is formatted correctly, run python sync_translations.py. This will modify your files.

Store descriptions in metedata/ are updated automatically. Translating changelogs is not useful.

The app name might be partially translated, the "Unexpected" word should remain untranslated if possible.

As translations need to be updated regularly, you can subscribe to this issue to receive a notification when an update is needed: https://github.com/Julow/Unexpected-Keyboard/issues/373

Adding key combinations

Key combinations are defined in srcs/juloo.keyboard2/KeyModifier.java. For example, keys modified by the Fn key are defined in method apply_fn_char.

Keys with special meaning are defined in KeyValue.java in method getKeyByName. Their special action are defined in KeyEventHandler.java in method key_up